Although Jimmie Johnson is usually fairly mild-mannered, like any driver he has his moments where he can’t help himself and ends up ranting over the radio to his team about regarding that happened on the track.
Mindful of who’s listening, drivers try to keep team radio communication PG
Fearful of what they might hear, Jimmie Johnson doesn’t allow his children to listen in on his radio channel during a race.
Drew Hallowell/Getty Images
It is in those instances where Johnson can be heard uttering a string of expletives, something the father of two young children didn’t know he did until his wife altered him.
“When you’re in the car and you’re mad, you forget that children are listening or maybe even your own children,” Johnson said Friday at Sonoma Raceway. “My wife has shared with me that she’ll never let our kids listen to me in a race. I said, ‘Really? I’m that bad?‘ And she said, ‘When you are bad, you are that bad.’”
Being able to listen to communication between a driver and their team is a unique aspect to the sport, but NASCAR mandates the radio chatter be public so that officials can monitor while also providing fans inside access. Which means fans are privy to the frequent intense, often profane exchanges where upset drivers express their displeasure with various happenings.
The lively banter has become so popular Fox and NBC, NASCAR’s two television partners, have weekly segments on its auxiliary programming devoted to highlighting the most compelling radio chanter from the previous race weekend. Fox dubs its segment “Radioactive,” which airs on Tuesdays on “Race Hub”.
“I do understand why it’s entertaining, and I cringe every once in a while when I hear the term ‘Radioactive’ and wonder what I did the week before and what people were thinking,” Johnson said.
Kyle Busch is one driver whose radio communication has been featured frequently over the years. The defending Sprint Cup champion admits that because whatever he says becomes public knowledge, he tries to choose his words carefully.
“It certainly opens up our world that used to be private and makes it a lot more public than what it used to be,” Busch said. “I’ve definitely changed over the years and holding back a heck of a lot more and not pressing the radio button as much.”
It just isn’t drivers who are aware what’s said over the radio can present an unflattering image, even if that’s not the intent. Team owner Chip Ganassi has on occasion reminded his drivers to use better discretion.
“If you look at the guys that win races and win championships, nine times out of 10 those are the calmer, succinct communicators on the radio,” said Ganassi, who owns NASCAR, IndyCar, sports car and rallycross teams. “They don’t get into a lot of poor language or obscenities.
“The guys that win on a regular basis, the guys that win championships, don’t feel the need to do that. I think that probably should tell you something.”
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